Saturday, November 08, 2008

There are so many gadgets out there it can sometimes be confusing--seems like everyone is racing to outdo each other with more bells and whistles so that those of us who might be technologically challenged haven't a clue where to go.

I was recently sent a Peek to review and I was interested because the Peek is a little different in that instead of a hundred things it only does one thing. ONE but it does it pretty well--it's a portable email reader that wirelessly allows you to check or write your emails on the go.

Andrew has a Blackberry that he keeps at his side at all times but the thing kind of intimidates me. As much as I like gadgets I'm never good at figuring out how to use them and all the dials and keypads and functions to his device have turned me off rather.

However even I was able to use the Peek and within about ten minutes I'd got it started, set it up and was checking my emails like I'd been doing it for years, it's that easy to use.

I've now been using it for several weeks and here are some of the things I've noticed:

It's small and sleek, much smaller than a Blackberry or even an iphone and I love my aqua color (it comes in black and red too). Fits very nicely in my purse!

It vibrates to let me know I have an email, though you can set it to make noise if you like the beeps.

It's inexpensive--as opposed to some of the other handheld devices that allow you to receive email this one retails at $99. That's a lot more realistic than what you'd pay for, say, an iphone.

It's convenient. It seems a good thing for people who like to keep in touch by email or who need to be able to check their emails without committing to an expensive, complicated device (I'm thinking a mother or grandmother in your life perhaps?)

It's non-committed. Service isn't too expensive--$20 per month--but the other benefit is that you don't have to sign a contract. Carry your plan month-to-month and cancel at any time without penalties. I'm always afraid of commitment so for me this is a good thing.

My only complaint with the device is that while simple to use you can't synchronize your computer email with your Peek so that if you read your emails on your computer and deal with them there they'll still show up on your Peek, you'll always have them in your inbox unless you delete them there too. Now this may not seem to be a problem because you just go to the top and see what hasn't been read yet but I'm someone who likes to have a clean desk or an empty inbox and once I've dealt with a message having it linger on my handheld somehow kind of bothers me.

I'm sure it's a neurosis on my part and others won't mind at all, I'm just weird that way.

I asked the Peek people about this and they said that when the storage gets full the Peek empties old emails naturally so there really isn't a need for it to be in sync with your computer and to make a device that does sync complicates things quite a bit so for now they're working on that feature but it's not available as of yet.

So if you've got someone on your list who wants it simple, wants it convenient, wants it colorful and wants email then this is the gadget for you. And thanks to the generosity of Peek I have a handheld just for you--or rather one of you--for your emailing pleasure. It comes with a free month of service as well just to get you started and happy. I'll even send you a message on it to welcome you to the Peek club if you want.

Wonderful, no?

So to enter please see the directions below, I'll announce the winner Tuesday. Any comments you leave here I'll be reading on my PEEK!Here's how to win:

Before 12 am Monday go to the giveaway entry form on this page and enter your name and email. I will pick one of the names at random, contact the winner via their email and publish the winner's first name and home town in next Tuesday's post. See the bottom of the entry form for more details.

This giveaway is open to all readers so good luck!

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And a couple other things . . . first, A Mama Drama is holding a quilt giveaway as a benefit for her friend's child who is in need of a transplant. Second, if you haven't already--think about entering this month's Write-Away Contest because the prize is especially good. A year's suppy of beauty and hair products (how about that?) So see the link for details.

I'm just going to leave a comment here because I don't need to enter this contest... no need for this... my laptop is always on!

But, I wanted to let you know that your "neurosis" isn't unique to you. I like to have as empty an inbox as possible. I only leave things in it that need to be handled. I think of my inbox as my to do list. KWIM?

This is just TOO great! I would use this to keep a running list in an email file of groceries I need, or gifts to buy (and sizes) so all the info would be right in my hand! Thanks for a great giveaway!